Live Action Films Part 2

The other short action films I wanted to focus on were West Bank Story by Ari Sandel and the one about the man on the train (cannot remember the title.) West Bank Story, unlike Passing Hearts represented a comical live action film. I loved this play off of the popular film West Side Story (at least I think that is what it's called, I have never actually seen it.) The comedy/musical style had the entire class consumed and actively participating with every burst of laughter and shocked gasps. The style of this live action film was more centered around the comical view of a parodies. The last live action short film that I cannot remember the titled of that I wanted to discuss is the one about the man on the train that proclaims his search for true love, and just as a woman vulnerably gives him a chance, he confesses it was all an act for money. The style of this film seemed to be a mixture of both of the film styles Passing Hearts, and West Bank Story. For the most part this film was comical and I was enjoying watching the humorous vulnerability of the man on the train. However, when the girl took a chance, she was taken advantage of and left embarrassed and alone. This is when the tone of the film took a dramatic shift, and although it enraged me to watch, I highly appreciate the tactic of the film maker that caught his audience off guard. To end, I absolutely loved the live action short films we watched in class.

Live Action Films Part 1

As I need to catch up on blogs I decided I would revisit a few topics that I had not previously blogged on. First I would like to address the day we watched live action films, one of my favorite days actually. I very much enjoy live action films, and would mostly prefer them over animation. I would like to focus on the short live action we watched titled "Passing Hearts" by Johann Brisinger. When we watched this film I remember thinking to myself that it was my new favorite (which also happened practically every time we had class.) This film evoked so many emotions within the audience and was so well put together. I loved the mysterious style of the film: it left the script open for practically anything to happen, and the audience was left responsible for trying to understand the plot as it slowly unraveled. It was interesting to see the various epiphanies of when we all started to realize that the boy was visiting the donor of his heart's parents. The plot of this short film just broke me inside with hurt for the parents of their lost child. However, it provided such a loving compassionate feeling to realize that yes death is a tragic thing, but that good can come from everything. Their son died, but because they decided to donate his heart, another life could be saved. It was so amazing to think about something like that, when we live in a world that only cares about what affects us and our emotions. Honestly, I just do not think animation could have done this film justice.

Music Videos

I love music videos. There is something about music that evokes emotions and memories, and when you can see a portrayal of a song, it makes the feelings more intense. I loved that we got to watch music videos in class and enjoyed the selection of the ones we watched. I have always really liked the interactional music videos based on fan reactions. However, the one interactional video we watched presented a new experience for me. The Music video where the randomly selected people were given headphones and told to say exactly what they were thinking as they watched it really intrigued me. It is more ordinary to see an experience based on actors saying how great the art, or music, or whatever is. But it is so unique that in allowing for any comments to be included, the artist creates a vulnerable tone, which to me, heightens my respect for their work.
I also really enjoyed the Johnny Cash music videos we watched in class, especially "Ain't No Grave." I admired the unique way the music video was created, I had never heard of something like that before. It was crazy how many different artists participated and all the creative art that was incorporated in the music video. The fan art to pay tribute to Cash created an emotional tone, and I could understand the feelings of the artists and the impact that Johnny and his work had on their lives. Not only did the music video rock, I really enjoyed the song.

Creating An Emotional Distance

In class we discussed how the film industry approaches harsh topics, such as violence, sex, and death. I personally, very much enjoyed this discussion and the insights Leeper had to share with us. Leeper said something that really stuck out to me; "creating an emotional distance" allows us to have a conversation and approach these harsh topics. As I had blogged about, the film When Life Departs did exactly that, it presented the difficult topic of death in such a way that our emotions could be evoked but not in a way that the audience wants to stray from the topic. Leeper described animation as acting as the emotional barrier in its ability to "avoid the brutality of death without avoiding the conversation." No, he was not dissing other types of film such as documentaries or live action, he just suggested that for harsh topics, animation allows a type of innocence and more comforting approach. He then compared the emotional distance animation creates to the film we watched earlier Feather Tale, which highlights the effects of rape. Such a film I believe could not have been better captured with a medium other than animation without creating an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere. Along the lines of protecting audiences and still informing on such topics, Leeper describes documentaries as providing a "voice to the voiceless." Documentaries allow for the expansion of such topics that many people stray from ever discussing. Personally, topics like these are often ones I would rather avoid, however animation eliminates my resistance to discuss them. This to me, highlights the reason for animation.

New Take on Documentaries

In class the documentaries we watched presented a new experience for me. I used to find documentaries boring, however throughout high school, I have grown to appreciate them. Now, I have begun to appreciate them not just for their messages, but their styles. I never really thought a documentary could be an animation, although the films we watched in class changed my perspective on documentaries all together.

I believe it is definitely possible to hate a film, yet still appreciate it. The film Ryan to me, sums up this belief. I absolutely hated the film, it was just harsh and dark and twisted, and I just did not like the feeling it gave me. As a documentary, I would not expect to feel that way about the topic. However, I can realize that this was the purpose of the film, it was supposed to be harsh. So I can appreciate it, and I did think the style was interesting. I just did not like the documentary at all.

Although, the documentary When Life Departs became my new favorite. I would not have thought that of all the films we have watched in class that a documentary would be my favorite. But I just was drawn to this film. It was intriguing to me that the animation style was intertwined with an actual documentary. It represented what the children were imagining when explaining their thoughts and feelings on death. I honestly think the film would not be the same if it was just a "normal" documentary. As an animation, I believe the film captures the meaning yet approaches the tough topic of death so simply that it makes it less harsh to take in. The style gave such an innocent tone, and evoked so many emotions, and memories. It was just so relatable, I got teary-eyed throughout the whole film. It was agonizing to hear all the pain and confusion the children were going through, I felt so much empathy. I love when films can hit home and evoke the emotions of their audience, just as this one did.  I just loved this documentary.

Thoughts on Sex...

Okay, so I honestly hate this subject. It is always annoying the reactions when sex is brought up for discussion. People usually crack inappropriate jokes, or condemn others views on it. This irritates me, especially the inappropriate jokes, I feel like sex is a very mature topic, so it should involve maturity when being discussed. The jokes are annoying, however I am more bothered by the extreme condemning tone that is present when discussing sex. Everyone has different perspectives on sex and I cannot stand to see other peoples opinions be shot down or see others harsh glares, that is uncalled for. Just something I observed in class..

Anyways, I thought it was interesting how we talked about the Church informing of sex. I seemed to have a different experience than most everyone else. I never got the feeling that my church remained quite about sex or persecuted the thoughts or actions of others concerning the topic. I do however, believe that my church promoted purity, but that does not mean that they did not inform of sex. My church hosted an annual event called The Purity Ball in which they held a ceremony for middle schoolers informing on sex and promoting purity. No, they were not condemning people who did not remain pure until marriage. They invited a series of guest speakers to share their experiences with sex, and they ranged from getting pregnant in high school, being sexually abused, to waiting until marriage. Then they broke guys and girls up to discuss sex, questions, and experiences. It seemed in class like all churches were being grouped together as condemning sex. I never once felt any bit of a condemning tone at my church, I thought it was refreshing that they informed the kids of sex and even showed various different perspectives on it. They discussed that sex was a gift from God, as we discussed in class. I did get the feeling from class that belief seemed universal - sex is a gift from God. However, all I was thinking in class was I'm not hearing "sex is a gift from God meant for marriage." That part of the gift seemed to me to be left out. Which is exactly what my church highlighted, that sex was meant for marriage between a man and a woman in love. No, I'm not saying if you do not wait until marriage that you are going to hell, I'm just saying that's how God intended it. And I believe that's what the church's intentions are, or should be, to inform of sex, yet still promote purity.

That Dragon, Cancer

"I think there's inherent fear that as Christians we're going to be censored, that [people in the industry are] just going to scrub everything clean of faith. But what I'm finding, at least in these industries, is that what they really respect is the story." - Ryan Green

The reading assignment about the video game That Dragon, Cancer was very interesting to me. I have never been into gaming, its just not something I do, especially considering most games are based around violence. However, this article has lead me to realize that there is an industry for more than just the usual.  For example, Green's video game is one in which is meant to tell an interactive story of the Green family and their journey through their son Joel's battle against cancer. I have never heard of such a game, and I really liked this concept. The article discussed the creation of the "Story Studio" and stated "The Story Studio's goal is not to entertain but 'to enhance people's lives' Unseld said." The most unique thing about this type of gaming to me is the integration of faith. The game includes the faith of the Green family; "At certain points in the game, players can listen to
Green's poetry or desperate prayers." I figure that has to be the most powerful thing to hear, especially in a video game. I never thought of gaming and faith to be one, that's just so different to me...

But then I wondered, why does it have to be so different?..

• "Ultimately, I think that we need to use language of our culture to describe what God is like, because that's the context that we all share."

Essay Quiz 2 Extra Credit

My personal favorite film we have watched throughout the semester is Owl Marries a Goose by Caroline Leaf. Sure, this film is found quite humorous and I do enjoy humor, however this film meant a lot more to me. I shared this film with many of my friends, and have watched it several times. Not only do I very much enjoy the new type of Animation Leaf introduces through her sand works, but I also love the unique message that is portrayed throughout Owl Marries a Goose, and I can connect with it on a personal level. The story of an owl who falls hopelessly in love with a goose he cannot begin to keep up with does not necessarily seem like something many people can relate to. However, this film tells a story everyone is familiar with; hopelessness in trying to reach the level of acceptance in a culture so resistant to individuality. The owl wanted so desperately to fit in with the flock of geese, and tries to mimic who they are and what they do. But in the end none of his attempts mattered. He could not be something he wasn't. This is a main struggle throughout many people's lives, trying to live up to the standards of something or someone they are not. This is particularly true with me. I have always tried to gain others acceptance, and it has been an extreme struggle in my life, creating feelings of being useless, unwanted, and not good enough. I am the owl, and all I ever wanted in life was to become a goose, to be someone I was not, because those were the people in life who had it all. However I realized that being the owl is not a bad thing, as long as you accept it and live it out with pride. Caroline Leaf was different, she introduced a unique style by using sand techniques, she was the owl and she accepted and shared it. That is what all of our readings have been about, accepting uniqueness. That is what all art is -- living it out with pride. Embracing your differences, exposing your quirks, teaching the world that it is a good thing to be different.

Simplicity

The films we watched in class on Tuesday were most likely my favorite so far. They presented a sense of simplicity, and it was interesting to see such well created films with only a few producers. I enjoyed the unique style of each film, and could see why they could be giving Disney/Pixar a "run for their money." I enjoyed the humor within the films, it was great to hear the whole class burst out in laughter when everyone died in Hell's Kitchen, although it was sort of dark. It's interesting to see how such a dark concept can provide such humor. The timing was perfection, every action lead into the next action, and created a domino effect. I also enjoyed the different techniques used in Hell's Kitchen, such as the use of cardboard. I enjoyed this film a lot, however After You is my personal favorite of the semester so far. This short film truly exemplified the concept of simplicity, yet was such a phenomenal After You utilized computer graphics, and merely included the two characters and the door frame. It amazed me how a film could be so powerful with only a few props. The film honestly reminded me of a Pixar short film, which explains why producers like this are giving them a run for their money. These short films are extremely impressive, especially since they only have a few producers involved. Pixar and Disney better watch out.
 

Feminism in the Film World

I have never been an extreme feminist, however I believe the feminist films we watched in class Thursday serves as a very important addition in the film industry. When stating that I am not an extreme feminist I am not saying I do not think women should have equal rights to men, because I by all means believe that. However, I have just not concerned myself much with the concept of feminism and have not been directly affected by it. I have just never described myself as a feminist. Although this may be true, I do believe that the films we watched in class exemplified the true meaning of being a feminist and promoted knowledge and understanding to the discrimination women face. I also thought the films were tactfully made in concern to the harsh subject. Both the films Feather Tail and The Stain were difficult films to take in, and they both addressed the concept of rape. I did not necessarily enjoy either of the films, because of the fact that they were so hard to take in. However, I realize this that is the point of the films and therefore have a strong appreciation for them. These films were interesting to me because I would have never watched them on my own, it's not something I would just choose to watch. This class has opened up many new experiences in the film industry because like these films, I would not watch most of the ones we have on my own. However, I realize they are all important films that should be viewed by everyone. On the other hand, I extremely enjoyed the other two films. Un Jour was particularly interesting to me because it highlighted the feelings all women have concerning falling in love. It exemplified the idea that once women fall in love with a man, and that man betrays her, it leaves an empty void that cannot be filled by anyone else. This really hits home for most girls because we all have encountered heartbreak before. The Dove Campaign was my favorite. I have always loved the Dove commercials, they promote inner and natural beauty. This is refreshing to me because it's contrary to other businesses in the beauty industry who make woman and children feel the need perfect themselves by buying their beauty products. Their strive for influencing women to embrace their natural and inner beauty is their most successful aspect of their campaigns.

Never Loose Sight of the Drawing Board

In the assigned reading on the Masters of Animation: Yuri Norstein, I found a sentence that stuck out, and I couldn't help blog about it, although it honestly has nothing to do with the reading. When we had to read on the different countries contributions to animation, I was reading on the USA, and the sentence reading "Today's ideal medium is thought by many to be the computer rather than the drawing board" hit me hard. My artistic talent is solely drawing board, at least for now. I focus mainly in acrylic paint and colored pencil. I am intending on minoring in graphic design, hints the reason I am in this class. However, I do not know much about digital arts, and computer arts. My high school, being small and having little interest in the arts program, did not offer any form of computer art classes. I heard my whole high school career that I should go to school for art, but that I would never get any jobs unless I knew computer arts, this mostly coming from my art teacher. This has been a main struggle for me; I am talented in drawing and painting, but the world is shifting to solely computer base arts. I am open to learning more about computer arts, but am hesitant in fear of loosing the drawing board based talents that I have. I do not merely want to forget about drawing and painting, but am concerned that's what graphic design will lead me to. It is interesting to see how technology is shifting art, I just believe we shouldn't loose sight of the drawing board.

Fairytales for Everyone

This was probably my favorite reading assignment so far (hints the extraordinarily long blog post..) Throughout the reading assignments, I focused in on a few key concepts and conflicting views between the authors. I decided to highlight the important quotes and concepts from the text that I found intriguing.

"On Three Ways of Writing for Children" By C.S. Lewis"

• In the quote "A tree grows because it adds rings: a train doesn't grow by leaving one station behind and puffing on to the next," Lewis discusses how children's stories aren't meant strictly for children, but rather can be influential to adults, because over time adults grow in their perception of such stories.
• I related well to the key concept that "as all children's literature is not fantastic, so all fantastic books need not be children's books." This expands on the concept that fairytales are not just for children and adults are entitled to the imaginative, and extraordinary world just as much as children are.
• My favorite concept of the writing by C.S. Lewis was his views on not sheltering children in fear of imposing fright within them.
• The following quotes outline his view on how resisting from sheltering them is intended for enlightening children instead of frightening them.
• "I think what professes to be realistic stories for children are far more likely to deceive them."
• "Its fulfillment on the level of imagination is in very truth compensatory: we run to it from the disappointments and humiliations of the real world: it sends us back to the real world undividedly discontented."
• Lewis suggests that enlightening children allows them to look at the world differently, though they know the fairytale isn't real, they still try and create the fairytale in the reality. These very concepts, and my favorite concepts are presented through these quotes:
• "He does not despise real woods because he has read of enchanted woods; the reading makes all real woods a little enchanted. This is a special kind of longing."
• "because he can't get it: the boy reading the fairy tale desires and is happy in the very fact of desiring. For his mind has not been concentrated on himself, as it often is in the more realistic story."
• "Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage."
• "Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let villains be soundly killed at the end of the book. Nothing will persuade me that this causes an ordinary child any kind or degree of fear beyond what it wants, and needs, to feel. For, of course, it wants to be a little frightened."
• "And I think it possible that by confining your child to blameless stories of a child life in which nothing at all alarming ever happens, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable."  This quote suggests that by introducing fear to children, it allows them to grow. If nothing bad ever happens in stories, children will expect nothing bad to ever happen in life, and will be unprepared to endure hardships.

Key Conflicting view between C.S. Lewis and Isaac Bashevis Singer:

• I noticed through reading the two excerpts that the authors had a main disagreement concerning the reason for writing children's stories.
• C.S. Lewis believed that a story should have a true meaning to the writer in order for it to be purposeful. He states "for I think we can be sure that what does not concern us deeply will not deeply interest our readers, whatever their age." Lewis sort of places the audience on the backburner, and suggests that it is worth writing if it is important to the writer.
• Isaac Beshevis Singer stated a large contrast "I must first have a real topic or theme." His belief differs largely from Lewis, and he continues to suggest that "Some writers sit down to write a book, not because they love the story, but because they are in love with the message it might bring." He practically believes if the story doesn't have a purpose to the readers, there's no purpose in writing it.

I also enjoyed the extra credit reading and the quote by Isaac Beshevis Singer "We write not only for children but also for their parents. They too, are serious children," because it really tied in well with the theme of the readings.

Letter to Artists

During class we discussed the letter Pope John Paul II wrote to artists. I believe this letter really connected with our discussion of how Christians need art. This peaked my interest because he intertwined faith with art and how God has blessed artists with the talent and desire to create art. I decided to re-watch the video of the letter reading by Pope John Paul II and basically quote and analyze my favorite lines.

The following quotes suggest that there is a reason artists are the way they are; they have been blessed by God and called to act upon their gift of artistic talent. It is suggested that God shares his wisdom and artistic talent through a various amount of His children in order to share His beauty throughout the world. 

• "The divine artist, passes onto you, a spark of His own surpassing wisdom."
• "You artists, have a special relationship to beauty - beauty is the vocation bestowed on you by the Creator in the gift of artistic talent."

We discussed in class how Christians need art. The following quote stuck out to me, not so much how Christians need art, but rather how Christians fulfill others need for art. 

• "Society needs you artists. The world in which we live needs beauty, in order to not sink into despair."

The next few quotes from the video showed how artists relate and capture beauty. Beauty is resembled as truth, joy, and a savior. I found it ironic how it was found offensive when it was said that beauty will save the world, and how it was continued to say that Beauty Himself has already saved the world, because it is obvious that Pope John Paul II was concluding that God is the beauty in everything.

• "Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart."
• "Beauty is an invitation to save our life and to dream of the future."
• "Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence."
• "Beauty will save the world. Beauty Himself has already saved the world."

Little additive: found this quote by Pope John Paul II. Seems to somewhat contradict one of the key themes we've discussed in class about not doing what we ought to, but what we feel. Just something I found interesting, considering he writes a letter to artists, who we have discussed must forget what they ought to do, and start doing what they feel.

Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXLM3bql52Q

Fairy Tale of Faith

In class we discussed the writing by G.K. Chesterton that was an extra reading assignment for Tuesday. I very much enjoyed this reading and what Chesterton had to say really hit home for me. This excerpt from Ethics of Elfland/Orthodoxy highlighted many of the key points we discussed in class, all stemming from the concept of fairy tales. Chesterton highlights the idea that we all begin life believing fairy tales and throughout the mess of reality, we loose sight of the extraordinary. We discussed in class that comedy is unexpected, tragedy is inevitable, and fairy tales are transformative. I believe fairy tales have transformed who we are and how we perceive life.  My favorite sentence in the passage stated "I am concerned with a certain way of looking at life, which was created in me by the fairy tales, but has since been meekly ratified by the mere facts." Chesterton suggests that through life we begin to lean on our own understanding through the experiences that have taught us that the extraordinary is limited to children. However I believe that as Christians we cling to the belief of the extraordinary; we serve an extraordinary God and must not lean on our own understanding but our trust in him.





In class it was stated that "the gospel has the power to transform" and to back that up, transformative was defined as "finding the unexpected and unordinary in the midst of the ordinary." Every single person walks on the same path of life, but not everyone walks with Jesus, many walk alone. The gospel has the power to transform, but in order for the gospel to transform, we must find the gospel (or unexpected) in the midst of our ordinary lives. Professor Leeper stated that "when you tell the same story in your unique way, that's when it gets interesting." Christians all have the same story to tell, just in our unique way. Our faith is our fairy tale, and in order for others to be transformed by the gospel, we must share our fairy tales.

Am I a "bad reader?"

In class we discussed the concept of being a bad reader vs. a good reader, and I began to ponder whether or not I actually read into films and seek the deeper meanings. The example we used in class, the Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life" lead me to realize that I am often a bad reader. I watch this movie every Christmas, it's a family tradition and our favorite film of the holiday season. Therefore, I was very intrigued in studying this film, as it sparked my personal interest through the connection I have with it.

However, I realized that through this film, I am a bad reader. This movie always peeks my interest and emotions; it's a comedy, tragedy, and love story all wrapped up in one heart-warming film. Although I showed some signs of being a good reader, such as watching the film over and over, and being actively engaged, I lacked the key concept of reflecting what I am watching. I did not take into account the various symbols relating to the bible such as the splitting of the dance floor as the splitting of the red sea, Potter being the devil, and the most obvious - Mary being the Virgin Mary. I never even considered this holiday film to have such symbolic meanings, although it does make sense that a Christmas film would be centered around the Virgin Mary and other themes throughout the bible. I realize that I need to begin reading more in depth of films and learn to recognize symbols that imply more important themes.



 

Maybe I'm completely off-base here, but is it possible that through the various symbols to the bible, that the film maker was suggesting it can only be a wonderful life if we obtain the love of Christ? Just a thought.

We Must Humble Ourselves

I thoroughly enjoyed the film we watched in class on Tuesday, and as I went back to my dorm room had to share it with my friends, because we love to laugh. However not only did I favor this short film because it made me laugh. For me, the message of interactions between different social classes, made me think more of the filmmakers intentions besides providing humor to the audience. The short film "Lunch Date" by Adam Davidson uses comic techniques to portray the truth that in normal settings members of different social classes would rarely interact, let alone share lunch with one another. I believe that the filmmaker purposely incorporated various homeless people throughout the beginning to foreshadow his message that would later be concluded. He wanted his audience to focus on the homeless people and contrast them to the wealthy woman who ignores them all together. As the woman buys her salad, and returns to the much less fortunate man eating it, we can draw another contrast. When she believes the man stole her salad, she becomes very defensive and tries to reclaim it. However, we see when she steals a bite, the man has no reaction but instead accepts kindly and even buys her a cup of coffee. This man gives much more with much less. So the question that enters my mind is this; is the filmmaker trying to propose that by having less we become humble, and by being humble we are inclined to do more? Matthew 23:12 states that "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." In the context of this short film, when the wealthy lady realizes she has been mistaken, she is humbled. However the man who is already humble, shows love. I realized as I re-watched "The Lunch Date," that we did not finish the film in its entirety. And as I watched the remainder of the film, my enjoyment lessened. At the end there is a homeless man asking for money for food, and the wealthy lady who has just been humbled, once again ignores his presence. The author was once again is highlighting the standpoint of the wealthy in the social ranking, and their little concern for anyone besides themselves. I believe this was the key moment of the film; when the audience expects a change of heart in the wealthy woman, but doesn't receive it.

Adrianna Holst

Hello everyone, my name is Adrianna Holst, and I'm a freshman here at Huntington University. I attended Whitko High School, which is located in a very small town called South Whitley, and is about 30 minutes from Huntington. My class size was around 140 people, so I am excited to be a part of a similarly small community in Huntington. My intended major is Marketing and I'm planning on minoring in Graphic Design. I have always loved art, but mostly drawing and painting. Although I am not pursuing an art career, I feel as though God has blessed me with my talent so that I can incorporate it in my career field. I have very little experience with computer design and honestly have no experience in filmmaking. However, I am eager to learn filmmaking techniques and processes in this class. A few things about myself:

• I love to play sports, however will not be playing any at Huntington. I especially enjoy softball, I was the pitcher in high school. I am interested in getting involved in intramural sports this year.
• I love to draw, mostly still-life and my favorite medium is colored pencil.
• I had no intentions of attending Huntington, but last minute God showed me where I truly belonged.
• I love to sing and am considering joining a worship band for a congregation in Fort Wayne with a few other HU students.
• I am very social and enjoy working in group settings.

I noticed others were providing their opinions of the videos we watched in class so here is mine:
I thoroughly enjoyed the last video that we watched because it engaged the audience and provoked them to think of why the man was acting the way he did. The end I believed both shocked and amused the audience, which was the objective.

Also, this is a picture of me at Kiawah Island in South Carolina this summer. This was both my first vacation and first time in the ocean (hated the ocean, loved the vacation.)